Using a Socio-Technical Approach to Explore Perceptions of the Graffiti Culture

The effectiveness of socio-technical approaches, such as the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), to structure problematic situations is dependent on the candid communication of participants. This paper reports a pilot study using SSM to explore the challenges of establishing the Ideal Speech Situation in order to gain an understanding of the contradictory perceptions of graffiti. Through exploring this social phenomenon from the views of both graffiti writers and the general public, power and ego were identified as challenges to establishing an Ideal Speech Situation. Analysing these challenges in the context of graffiti provides insight into how these barriers may hinder the effective application of socio-technical approaches.

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